Enter the Siren
by MattHunX
Summary: The introduction of my Borderlands OC, Vian as she arrives in Sanctuary, looking for Vault Hunters and adventure and immediately sets her eyes on a certain blue-haired Siren.
1. Borderlands - Enter the Siren - Part 1

**Author's Note: **This is my second fanfic. Am awfully pleased with myself, but feel free to level any constructive criticism, especially if you spot any errors with tenses.

As usual I don't bother with disclaimers. Everyone knows what belongs where, so there. You can find an image of my OC on DeviantArt, just search for the name and the obvious keywords.

**BORDERLANDS**

**Enter the Siren - Part 1**

There it was, floating in the sky, like an unreachable, impenetrable fortress. Yet, it was still battered, but not beaten. A fortress without any defenses, apparently. One that could actually be reached with but a small effort. Odd that people called it Sanctuary, though the name existed even before the whole thing went airborne, twice, actually. First it took flight as the Dahl Corporations prime mining ship of the same name. After their unsuccessful mining venture, it was abandoned and overrun by bandits and a city was built on top of it. The story of how it took flight a second time after that was sketchy in its detail, with not many people left alive to tell it...or to believe it; save for the credibility of those who called the place home. Even so it didn't fill just everyone with confidence, if a sanctuary is what they sought. Once they got past their amazement at where they were, it became rather apparent the place could be easily sieged by a large enough military force and it couldn't possibly put up much of a resistance. Speaking of resistance, there had to be much more to the former Headquarters of the Crimson Lance brigade and the raider resistance group that formed from its scattered remains, aptly named the Crimson Raiders. When asked, most people on Pandora told how it now functioned as a hub for Vault Hunters; and when used together and in plural, those two words could peek anyone's interest in the whole galaxy.

She landed the small aircraft rather roughly in front of what looked like a garage. She took in her surroundings, searching for a particular place where all the information about Vaults and their hunters, and any other odd jobs, odd people and even odder creatures circled, Moxxi's. She spotted it immediately, the way to it a straight walk and up a few steps. Looking herself over, black boots polished, white jacket unstained, checking the zippers around each shoulder that were used to detach the sleeves, and black fingerless gloves ready to punch someone, she started off towards her destination, a pair of female legs made of neon.

Moxxi noticed a face she hadn't seen before entering her bar; her clothes, her whole appearance made it obvious she wasn't Pandoran. She slightly raised an eyebrow, curiosity taking hold. Cleaning a cup, she followed the raven-haired newcomer with her gaze as she approached the counter. A woman, in equally unusual attire and blue hair, was sitting on a stool, immersed in a science book, judging by the cover. She sat down on her left, one empty stool between them. Her eyes slowly sized up the reading woman, in fact, as soon as she entered she seemed to gravitate towards her. As her gaze fell upon what looked like blue tattoos running down her entire left arm, her eyes narrowed, curiosity in them and a hint of recognition. It was that last bit, that brought Moxxi to alert, but when she saw her new guest smirk, she relaxed, though, not entirely. She sauntered over, twirling a cleaned shot glass between her fingers, other hand on her hip, close to her pistol, Rubi, just in case.

"Can I get you anything, sugar?" asked Moxxi in her usual seductive tone. The woman looked up from her reading, thinking the question was to her, but then noticed the new arrival.

The stranger looked Moxxi up and down, her eyes quickly got stuck on a tattoo of a small heart, or rather on the part of Moxxi's body where said tattoo was. After she practically had to forcibly tear her own eyes away she answered, "Mmm, you could!" Moxxi gave an amused smile, while the blue-haired woman raised a brow at the stranger's bluntness, not because she found it rude, not at all, and it is Moxxi she was dealing with. As far as she knew the woman, it would probably take a hell of a lot more to cross a line there. Moxxi had an expectant look, waiting for the stranger's choice of poison.

"Nothing really strong...alcohol isn't really my thing, but...how about a...Jäger?"

Moxxi's features briefly turned quizzical at that. "Nothing strong, she says..." she said, chuckling as she started searching for a bottle of Jägermeister.

"I'm sure I still have some lying around, hmm, from the last millennium. And that's as vintage as it can get. You don't even look old enough to be old-fashioned like that." commented Moxxi, teasing the woman a bit, as she couldn't have been more than 30.

"I'm old enough to know what I...like" came her reply, as she couldn't help but eye Moxxi up a bit more, as she was leaning in and under the counter to rummage through it. She then looked at the woman next to her, and said to Moxxi, "One for the scholar lady, here." nodding towards her, catching her attention some more.

She shifted her eyes, taking in the exotic woman's features, who was also trying to look her over as she looked as out of place as she herself once did, along with her Vault Hunter friends. She was stopped, her own searching gaze caught and frozen by the stranger's piercing silver eyes tracing her own face and slowly moving south. When the unknown woman's eyes were done exploring her, she meet her gaze, and she couldn't help but to give a somewhat shy smile. She wasn't bothered by the obvious attention she was getting from the woman, not in the least, but it was new to her and she was flattered and amused by it.

"Name's Vian." She extended a hand.

"I'm Maya" She moved to shake hands, but Vian took hers, lifted it and placed a quick peck on top of her hand and chuckled.

"Hello, Maya!" Maya blushed slightly and rubbed the back of her neck a little nervously with the same hand.

"Love your tattoo!" Vian told her as she ran her eyes over Maya's left arm.

"Oh, uh, thanks!" replied Maya a bit flustered, but also a bit on guard, as her Siren markings became the focus of attention.

"Here you go, ladies!" Moxxi reappeared, cheerily, with a bottle and put a shot glass filled with Jäger in front of the two.

"To all the men I had to punch in the face!" toasted Vian.

Maya giggled as she raised her own glass.

"I'm guessing they had it coming?" *tink*.

"They underestimated the bitch I can be." boasted Vian, and she downed the whole glass, as Maya stared for a second, surprised by the self ad-hom.

"Well, you seem to know yourself." She said, jokingly, and smiled taking a sip, then downed the rest of her glass.

"Maybe I'll need a second-opinion" Suggested Vian, as she looked pointedly at Maya. "After a dinner and a movie?"

Maya was lost for words for a second as Moxxi laughed.

"Definitely old fashioned...and a fast-worker, too. You don't waste time." Moxxi commented on Vian's flirting, as she poured another glass for the both of them.

"The pleasure cruise is always sailing." Another glass down. "There's always a free spot." She added, with a suggestive side-glance at Maya, who nearly mirrored her look, not without a glint in her eye, either.

"Aww, she likes you." said Moxxi, in a voice one uses on a pet. Maya shot her a look and Vian made a mewing sound, like a cat looking at its owner, overjoyed.

The bar-scene was observed from a far-off table in the corner by Lilith, Mordecai and Brick with Axton, Zero and Salvador at an adjacent table. Krieg was sitting by himself...or by themselves, closer to the bar. Gaige sat, away from the rest, but still close, tinkering with Deathtrap and caused a small electrical burst just then, making her jump a bit, which got Moxxi's attention and that of the other two at the counter. She yelled to the Mechromancer, "Gaige, sweetie, I told you to work on your bodyguard somewhere where you can accidentally kill less people."

Gaige shot back at the obvious dig at her past, not with contempt, though. "Hey, that was this one time, and I wasn't even on this planet, yet."

"Lucky us." said Mordecai from further back.

"I can make Deathtrap prioritize targets with lots o' alcohol in 'em." Gaige said in an explanatory tone, as if she was giving some trivia. It didn't even sound like a threat.

"Bull!" said Mordecai, challengingly.

"Try me!" answered Gaige with more of a daring tone than a threatening one and Mordecai was relatively certain she wasn't bluffing.

Vian looked the lot over and turned to Maya. "Weird bunch."

"They're...an acquired taste." answered Maya with a friendly smile.

Chatter around them died down as five bandits walked into the bar, one of them slightly larger than the rest, and seemingly tougher. He gestured towards Vian, and the others fanned out, two from either side, slowly approaching her. The two bandits from the left got a little too excited and started making threatening motions and sounds, laughing and getting ahead of themselves, nearly looking as crazy as the certifiable psychos on that planet. Before they could take another step, however, both were suddenly shot and set on fire by Moxxi's pistol, Rubi. Hilarity ensued as the two burning bandits tried putting the flames out on each other, slapping and patting each other down to no avail.

"I won't have that in my joint!" warned Moxxi.

"Bitch, we only had a beef with her!" said the bandit leader, pointing at Vian.

"We woulda just dragged her away quietly and then we woulda made her scream, but now we're gonna wreck this whole place, and make the two of you a double-act! Boys!" he threatened, barking orders for the remaining two.

"Someone thinks they're a bad-ass, but all I heard was 'Punch us in the face, please!'." Vian commented as she and Maya were now turning on their stools to face outwards.

"This'll have to do" said Moxxi, as she leveled Rubi on the bad-ass and took a shot. Unfortunately it was practically eaten by the larger bandit's shield. "Tch, aww." Moxxi clicked her tongue and pouted, not looking any more worried than anyone else in there.

"Start with that one and she's next" the bad-ass pointed towards Vian, then over to Moxxi, and the two remaining henchmen slowly approached, forking to either side, again. Maya started to get up, but was stopped when Vian put her whole arm out in front of her, and said "I got this." She took a few steps and glanced from one bandit to the next, adding, "This trouble followed me, here."

"You're gonna wish you took someone else's buzzard!" The bad-ass threatened, yet again.

"Ah told you Ah heard a buzzard." Said Brick to the others back in their corner.

"Broken watches, man." Mordecai quipped.

"This could get interesting." Zer0 commented as Axton and Salvador started counting something on their fingers, ending up with seven digits, looking at each other to make sure.

That last comment might as well have come from Lilith, but who was unusually silent, and was giving Vian a suspicious look.

The two bandits took a boxing-pose and the one from the right tried a right-hook on Vian, who pulled her head away as a fist breezed by inches from her face. A left-hook from the bandit, but this time, she grabbed his forearm with her left hand as it flew by, moved her grip to his wrist and twisted it, the crack audible over the bass of the speakers. She yanked on the bandit's arm, making him fall nose-first into her right elbow, with another sickening crack. She stepped behind the bandit, grabbing the back of his head and pushed him into the other one, who was attempting to lunge at her. They fell over in a heap on the floor, and as the one below pried the other off of him, he had but a fraction of a second to look, his retinas capturing his last image, that of the soles of a left-footed boot, before everything went black. Another crack, as his jaw entered his brain. The other one, apparently not dead, but soon to be, had a whole second to take in the thick smell of blood inside his own mask before it too was turned 'built-in' by Vian's foot.

"Ouch." Maya said, more impressed than mortified, as were the others. The bout lasted a good 10 seconds.

The bad-ass of the bandits shook his head in disappointment. "If you want something done right..." he started to say as he was popping the joints in his fist.

"...take four idiots with you, anyway, just in case?" Vian suggested, as she finished it for him.

"Yeah, keep talkin' while you got a throat." Again, with the threats.

The boss bandit apparently shared a love of boxing with his mates, as he started employing the same...uh...tactic, as the two K.O.s. His size seemed to give him an advantage the others lacked, tough, for when Vian attempted to grab hold of him, he wouldn't budge. She quickly let go and had to duck and weave to avoid his attacks. One more attempt by her to put him in a lock didn't turn out as planned, either, as his other hand grabbed her by the neck and lifted her up. She didn't appear to be panicked by it, as she pulled both of her legs up to her chest, and gave the bad-ass bastard a double dose of what his comrades got, at the same time pushing herself away and out of his reach.

"Tough guy, huh?" Vian taunted the bandit, who was likely ready with an insult or two, but fell silent as she began to take her jacket off, throwing it on the counter, amidst surprised gasps from the crowd, revealing a black bare midriff tank-top, an incredibly well-toned upper body - serious muscle-mass given her 5'8" height - but more importantly, the intricate blue markings of a Siren on the left side of her body. Lilith narrowed her eyes, her gut-feeling having been right. Maya's eyes were wide, mouth hung open in recognition. They all stared as the woman's body started emitting strange blue energy. It moved down to her fists as she crossed the distance to the bandit in a final blink of his eye, as it was permanently shut, cheekbone fractured by her fist. Vian delivered a flurry of punches as her new punching meatbag stumbled from left to right and back. The bandit eventually managed to find his footing and steadied himself, as the distance between them had widened.

"A glutton for punishment, I see." Vian said menacingly as she pulled both of her arms back behind her.

The others, bandit included, had no idea what was coming next. The few brief seconds he felt safe had gone as Vian punched the air in front of her in his direction, and let loose a ball of energy, hitting him square in his battered face. Then, another and another. Vian's fists were flying as she was unleashing dozens of the blasts, even as the bandit reeled backwards, his feet momentarily leaving the ground, with the next hit connecting just then. He was sent flying backwards a few good feet, as he landed with a loud thud back at the entrance. As he was trying to stop the world from spinning, two more bandits came out of the woodwork and saw their boss having considerable difficulty locating his own arse. The two exchanged looks, took one at Vian, then picked the now-not-so-bad-ass up, each hooking an arm around his from under him, hoisting him as they started dragging him away as he was screaming slurred obscenities and threats, still facing towards the Siren, just barely conscious.

The trio barely took a few steps when they looked back at Vian as her Siren energy flared, starting to take on an elongated shape, concentrated in her right hand. Pulsing, dense, warping the fabric of reality in and around it. The bandits made it to halfway between Moxxi's and the edge of the floating town, straight down from her bar and towards Scooter's workshop.

"Is that a spear?" asked Gaige from where they were all standing, no longer feeling the need to interfere.

"More like a javelin" correct Mordecai.

"What's the difference?" Gaiged asked, a little irritated at Mordecai having a go at her, again.

Just as she finished her question, Vian took a few running steps forward and threw the thing. A brilliant light soared through the air and they all watched as the apparently javelin-like projectile arced and lodged itself firmly in the once bad-ass bandit's sternum, running him trough.

"That." came Mordecai's answer to Gaige. "A spear is for stabbing, but they throw 'em a lot, too. But, a _javelin_ is _specifically_ made to be thrown. In history, soldiers could use their javelins while they ran, too, instead of standing still and aiming as they had to with spears."

"Romans also had these pilums. At close range, those things could pierce both a shield and the soldier holding it." added Axton as Brick and Salvador looked from person to person as they shared their piece of trivia, giving each other shrugs.

"Pff, weapon nerds!" Gaige said, mockingly.

"Hey, we're not the ones with the self-made giant killer robot." defended Axton.

"Hah, please, that turret of yours is practically a person...the way you treat it. Deathtrap actually has a personality-..."

"...disorder?" finished Mordecai, taking another dig at the red-head. Gaige just blew a raspberry, and left it at that.

Theill-fated bandit duo was too busy gaping at their dead boss and sticking their faces ever closer to the shining objectsticking out of his corpse to hear Vian's warning.

"You might wanna clear the hell out!" The bandits looked back and forth between each other and her. Merely a few seconds after her warning, a sudden explosion lit up the area, after which all three bandits lay scattered in too many pieces for even a forensics team to bother counting. Half the people winced, the rest were either shocked, impressed or downright excited at the sight.

And that was Pandora for you.

(To be continued...)

**Author's Note**: I loathe alcohol and Jäger is about the only thing I will drink, if pressed, and only if there is an occasion, like a shift-party with the colleagues from work. My colleagues told me you have to be careful with a Jäger, because it doesn't feel like it has much of a kick, but one will feel it later. I guess, that goes for all alcoholic drinks, but I have absolutely no idea.


	2. Borderlands - Enter the Siren - Part 2

Enter the Siren - Part 2

Everyone was silent as the dust and the smell of blood and charred flesh settled. A loud grinding noise came from the large garage down from the bar, as its door partially opened, pulled only a few feet up, and a man wearing a cap stuck his head out. He carefully surveyed the area, the two buzzards that were left in front and the road leading up that was freshly painted red, along with some of the buildings. A few of the locals were standing around; some of whom were grossing out over the new color of their cloths while others seemed quite thrilled with it. A slightly groggy, sleepy southern-accent filled the air all the way to the bar, as the man asked, "Heeey, are we…under attack?" and as he noticed the carnage "Woaaaah…that's…totally cool!" was his summation. "Uh, someone left their buzzards, here, yo!" he yelled.

"She got us two buzzards! Awesome!" exclaimed Brick.

"Can't Scooter, like, scan those into his Catch-A-Ride and build a whole squadron?" wondered Gaige.

"Well, you'd better go and share that idea with him, before he takes them apart!" suggested Moxxi, as Gaige practically skipped off, muttering something about using some parts for herself.

Vian turned, looked over the bodies she dropped, then scratched the back of her head. A little embarrassed, she looked at Moxxi, "Uh, you want me to throw these out the back for you, or…?"

"Oh, honey…I don't think custodial work is for you." commented Moxxi and with a chuckle she added "You make a fine mess, though!"

"She does!" Lilith finally spoke up as she sashayed over to them, now at ease.

"Nice moves back there!" she complimented the new Siren.

"Oh, stop! You make me blush." came Vian's response.

"Brick? Could you guys…" Lilith turned her head to ask something of the hulking man.

"Gotcha, Lil! Sal and I will toss 'em." he gestured to Salvador, the Gunzerker half his height, but with just as much muscle. Both of them grabbed one foot with a single hand and hauled all four cadavers away. The four legs that were left free were bending in odd directions with the cracking of bones here and there as they moved down some stairs.

"Let's hope they don't hit anyone down on the ground!" came some concern from Mordecai.

"The Whims of Fate here/A Deus Ex Machina/They will simply shrug." commented Zer0. He was right about the daily lives of Pandorans. Even dead bodies falling out of the sky didn't make their days more exciting.

"Uh, did that guy just speak in Haiku?" Vian asked, turning to Maya and Lilith.

"It's his thing." Lilith answered with a shrug and Maya gave one, as well, as Vian turned towards her. Maya then gave Vian a look, brow raised, arms folded across her chest.

"Nice tattoos!" she said, pointedly, narrowing her eyes a little, but with smile, not in any way angry that the woman kept the truth from her and even played innocent as she complemented her Siren markings.

"Um…surprise?" Vian attempted to smooth things over, though, it was unnecessary.

"Thought I could sense…something…from you." stated Lilith. "Just couldn't be sure." Then, she nodded towards Maya, "She had her nose buried too deep in that book to notice." Maya's smile faded some. Lilith was right. She was a little disappointed in herself for not paying attention.

"Aw, don't be so hard on her. I have that effect on some people." said Vian, folding her arms, as she defended Maya. Then, she added "It's the eyes." She pointed to her silver eyes, as they practically glowed, giving Maya a somewhat predatory look.

"Something tells me you're going to need a room." came the assumption from Lilith as Maya gaped at her, blinking, as Vian just grinned.

"I meant somewhere to crash. I'm guessing you didn't come all the way up here just to pick up-…", she paused and looked at Maya. "…women." Maya had a sheepish look on her face, as she hoped Vian wouldn't confirm Lilith's guess meant only as a joke.

"Well, that, too." So much for that thought.

"I'm also her for adventure, booty of both kinds and faces to bash." said Vian, enthusiastically.

"Oh. So you never heard about Vaults and Vault Hunters?" Lilith asked smugly, knowing Vian couldn't have possibly come all the way if she didn't. The latter confirmed her suspicions with a knowing smile of her own. She turned and started walking towards the bar's smaller exit as some customers were trying their luck on the slot machines next to it. She waved for the two Sirens to follow. "Come on! We'll get you settled in." came the invite. Vian looked at Maya, who started after Lilith as she gave her a nod to follow.

She grabbed her jacket from the counter, slung it over her left shoulder and caught up to Maya with a few long steps on her left, before they were even out the door, which was just wide enough for two people of their size to comfortably pass through. Their bare shoulders brushed against each other as Vian flashed a brow, a quick up and down, for Maya, who just slightly shook her head at the latter's seemingly non-stop flirting. They followed Lilith as she passed through a building that looked like some sort of station. As Vian looked to her left, a strange machine caught her eyes, with the name of the city on it in a holographic display.

"What's _that_ thing?" she queried. Lilith stopped, as Maya looked at what she was asking about. A little surprised she answered with a question.

"You never used a fast-travel station, before?" Then, as she remembered how Vian arrived with a stolen buzzard, "Well, I guess not, otherwise you wouldn't have needed a buzzard." she concluded as Vian pursed her lips, a little confused.

"This device scans you, your body, into it. Then, it sends your data to another device of your choosing, somewhere else, and digistructs you."

"Digistructs?" asked Vian, not at all sure or comfortable about what that was.

"Uh, it's teleportation, to put it simply." explained Maya.

"You mean, I could just walk up to one of these down on the planet, press a button and poof, here I am?" Vian asked, more in awe than in disbelief.

"Yes. You select a destination and it takes you wherever that is."

"Is it safe?" asked Vian, a little unsure.

"Completely." reassured Maya. Then, with a small laugh, she said, "You could've spared yourself a long flight and the company that followed."

"I guess. But flying was more fun and so was the fight." said Vian. "And the company here was definitely worth all the hassle." she added, as her smile returned along with Maya's. Lilith just rolled her eyes, though, not out of disgust but rather out of nausea, looking at the two. She resumed her walk, as she was leading them all back to their headquarters.

They passed a square with a huge machine standing in the middle that was pulsing with energy. By the looks of it the entire thing was under the ground, at one point, and was raised by some mechanism that apparently needed an enormous amount of power. Maya saw the inquiring look on Vian's face and gave her the best answer she could, according to her knowledge, "It's what keeps Sanctuary in the air. Long story short, we were being bombarded and we had no shields, so Lilith-…" she looked ahead of them, to see of the woman had any problems with her relating what happened, but seeing no reaction, she continued, "…um…she used Eridium, an ore unique to this planet, that somehow boosts her powers, and she turned the machine on and we…took off. Then, she teleported the whole thing, too. The original location was in the arctic regions.

"Brr…" Vian made a sound as if she was cold. "So, Miss Sunshine, there, brought real sunshine." she commented with a bit of sarcasm, noting Lilith's passiveness and Maya picked up on it.

"She…had it rough. The past couple of days were…stressful; for everyone, but mostly for her." Vian mouthed an 'oh', giving the Siren ahead of them a solemn look.

They walked on and were coming up on a fortified building with a man, in a suit of armor similar to what the raiders wore, standing guard over a closed door. A woman's angry voice could be heard coming from inside as they reached the door. Maya furrowed her brows in concern, Vian raised one of hers and Lilith just pushed in the thick metal door with a bored expression, not even worried about the commotion.

"Do that again, and you'll lose a hand!" A woman with dark-blue hair and a shield on her back was threatening someone off to their right and pointing a sword in the same direction.

"What did she do?" Lilith asked the temperamental woman and looked to their right.

"I required a DNA-sample. She had her back turned as she was attempting to leave, which I reasoned was an opportune time to obtain one without any fuss." came the explanation from the person on the right, a woman with goggles pulled above her eyes, who was leaning over and peering into some equipment, entirely unapologetic.

"Doc, you should really stop doing that!" came the…non-warning from Lilith, as she knew full well it wouldn't discourage Tannis one bit. The eccentric and also sociophobic scientist was far too unpredictable to be expected to behave in a…socially acceptable manner. Lilith then looked back at the warrior woman in front of her.

"Relax, Athena!" she told her, with an edge in her voice. The woman gave her a cold glare, but said nothing. She kept her eyes leveled at Lilith, the two locking eyes until she walked past the three Sirens and out the front door.

"Ooh, I sense some hostility between those two." wondered Vian, out loud, then, as if it was a must for her, framed her next question as thus, "Sexual tension?"

Maya just stared at her as Lilith only shook her head and moved further in towards some stairs. They followed her through the room, as Vian looked around, at the strange doctor moving from instrument to instrument and at the row of lockers lining the walls between bunks. As they reached the upper floor Vian couldn't help but to ask, "If you're staying upstairs, then who are all those lockers for?"

"Uh…" Maya didn't have an answer.

"They came with the place. Go ahead, open 'em all! Maybe you'll find something interesting." came the odd suggestion from Lilith. Vian gave Maya a weird look and latter only shrugged her shoulders, her expression saying 'Don't ask me'.

They went through the first room that had more bunks and a large safe that was used for storing weapons and other equipment rather than money. They were now standing in a darkened room with a holographic-display in the center showing a map and various information related to certain locations on it. Above the map-table were monitors of all sizes, creating a circle, so one could be viewed from wherever a person was standing. In fact, all of the walls had monitors on them in the upper half of the room, including the corners.

"This is where all the scheming happens?" guessed Vian.

"Pretty much." came the confirmation from Lilith.

"This was 'Crimson Raiders Central', right?" inquired Vian, going off from the information she could gather prior to arriving there.

"Yep. You did your homework, I see." Lilith commented.

"Not really. I barely know anything else. Well, the whole thing started off as a mining ship and it was a bust and they put a whole city on top of it and the whole thing was occupied by the Lance and then the Raiders and then it went flying off and now it's where all the interesting people are. Vault Hunters." came the admission and summary as Vian shrugged, signaling with it the end of her knowledge.

"And other Sirens." added Maya, giving her the same nonserious accusatory look and matching tone. Vian pursed her lips.

"I wanted to let you in on it bit by bit. Uh…didn't exactly have an idea how, though." Vian had a blank look on her face for a moment.

"Yeah. Not exactly something you can reveal…discreetly." said Maya.

"Well, you two don't seem to hide it at all." commented Vian, referring to both Lilith's and Maya's clothing and how their Siren tattoos are exposed.

"I'm not gonna cover myself head to toe. Besides, whoever wants to mess with me might as well know what they're getting 'emselves into. I've been bullied enough for these things," she said indicating her tattoos, "so I'll bully back." said Lilith, the slight anger in her voice only made more apparent by her small declaration of war as she made a fist that glowed with energy.

"O-kay." said Vian, putting her hands up as if she had a gun pointed at her. "Holster that thing, Sister!" she told Lilith as the latter did so.

"And what about you miss leotard?" she asked Maya, noting her unusual combination of cloths, as she stepped closer to her and traced the markings on her exposed pelvic area with her fingers.

"Huh? What's weird about it? Maya asked, innocently.

"It's not weird, it's just…different." answered Vian, with a childish smile, getting all giddy, like when a child sees something new. "Love how your pelvis is exposed. A little v-line…and the neck-part. It accentuates your features."

"I always thought my neck was bit long…" said Maya, averting her gaze, getting a bit self-conscious and embarrassed.

"You're lanky. It's supposed to be. I like lanky." Vian said, reassuring Maya about her own physical attractiveness.

"Oh, really…we haven't noticed." Lilith sarcasm didn't exactly help lessen Maya's nervousness and it did not drain the color from her cheeks, either.

"So…?" Vian prodded. And it took Maya a few seconds to regain her composure and remember what they were talking about.

"Oh, uh…I…kinda had a…very…sheltered childhood. The first 26 years of my life, actually." Maya tried to choose her words carefully.

"What? You were a nun or something?" asked Vian, not with mockery but with a bit of caution. Lilith burst out laughing for a second before she covered her mouth as Maya sneered at her.

"Oh, holy shit." said Vian, thinking it was actually the case. "Pardon the pun."

"Oh, no. No. I wasn't a nun." Maya was quick to correct. "I grew up on Athenas. I was taken to an order of monks, as an infant."

"Zealots?" asked Vian, not liking the sound of it.

"Well, they ruled the planet. I was kept hidden from everyone, and trained my powers in isolation until they brought me before the public to…reveal me as their 'savior'…or so they fed them with that bullshit." Vian popped a brow at the cuss word. "Sorry."

"I like a potty-mouth, too." said Vian as she grinned at Maya. "Let me guess, they wanted to keep the people in line…with you…on a short leash?" asked Vian, in a more serious tone, with a hint of disgust behind it.

"Exactly. They were practically extorting people through tithes and they wanted me there so the people would fear the Order."

"So, how'd you escape?" asked Vian with genuine compassion behind her eyes.

"I…used my power on my handler and…I shot him." Maya explained with perhaps some traces of remorse in her tone and eyes. Vian was taken aback, though only for a second, more out of awe and respect than disgust or disapproval.

"Hmph. You shouldn't feel too bad about that. You did those people a favor with it." She tried to support the other's actions.

"I…like to think so." came Maya's reply as the mood turned more serious. Then, as if on cue:

"Wow, you two actually killed the mood." said Lilith, who was now standing in the exit to the balcony a few steps away, leaning against the wall. The other two haven't even noticed her walking over there and they were blinking in mild confusion, wondering when that happened.

"So…what's your story?" Maya asked after a few seconds of awkward silence as they realized they were both lost in their conversation with each other to notice the world around them. "The way you asked about the Order's motives…you had a similar upbringing?" came the assumption.

"Nothing like that. That is, I had my fair share of experience with cults and other religious groups and some fake friends who were only interested in wrecking innocent lives to make theirs easier using me and this, " She made a fist, too and looked Lilith's way as it glowed. The latter only raised a brow, a little amused, and glad that they had something in common with the way they had to toughen up, "Or they would have taken advantage of me, but I caught on to their game early on. Had to wise-up pretty fast. From some of them I stayed away. From others…well, I taught 'em a lesson."

"In…what way?" asked Maya, with an uncertain look.

"Oh, nothing gory. Just ransacked their places, kicked some asses and gave their stuff to all sorts of people who put it to better use. You know. Charities, communities, memorials. Building stuff. Fighting corporations. Activism." listed Vian, as Maya's eyes got wider with each thing mentioned.

"Aw, you're a goodie-two-shoes, then." stated Lilith and Vian gave her her own sneer.

"One that bathes in blood…almost." corrected herself Lilith with a genuine smile.

"Almost," repeated Vian, before adding, "It would ruin the make-up!" She said acting worried as she rubbed both of her cheeks with her hands. Lilith just raised a brow, again, only a little amused, while Maya gave a slight laugh at Vian's fake-concern, because she didn't seem to wear any make-up.

"You're definitely not afraid to get your hands dirty." said Maya, before she realized Vian will definitely twist those words. "Uh...um…" she trailed off. Too late.

"Oh, I can definitely get dirty!" came the now all too familiar mischievous grin and Maya had a defeated expression on her face, looking up and sighing as Vian let out a barely audible laugh, thoroughly enjoying the reaction she was getting.

"Here we go, again…" Lilith sighed as she pushed away from the wall and walked out onto the balcony and the other two followed.

"And the sun's still up." added Vian as the day was far from over.

(To be Continued)

Authors Note: I wanted to use Handsome Jack's line from Zer0's ECHO recordings, where Jack is talking to Angel about the way the Assassin talks. As you may have guessed, this takes place after the events of the ending in The Pre-Sequel and Athena is around. The part about the lockers is, of course, a reference to the looting in-game and the stuff one can find. I found a legendary Slagga SMG in Scooter's garage on level 8 or 9, once. LOL.


	3. Borderlands - Enter the Siren - Part 3

**Enter the Siren – Part 3**

Vian, Maya and Lilith were leaning against the concrete railing of the balcony, looking down on the main square with the machine in the middle putting in some serious working hours, going nonstop. Good thing, too. Otherwise, they would all plummet to their rather spectacular deaths. People falling out of the sky, is one thing, but an entire city? Albeit small. Vian was thinking the exact same thing as she took in the place from their…vantage point. Their actually wasn't much to see as the balcony itself was wedged in between a higher structure, so to their right, they could only see the roofs of other buildings and to their left, a wall, stretching out towards the square. She couldn't even see that fancy fast-travel station from where they were. The whole of the square wasn't even visible.

"Uh…nice…view." she commented, sarcasm having its way.

"Admittedly not much to look at," agreed Lilith, then she added, "You can get on the roofs easier, though."

"And you can find more stuff in weird places." added Maya.

Vian's face shifted through several expressions in a second. Confusion, caution, disbelief. And ended in a blank stare, not for the first time, since she arrived. She looked from Maya, on her left, to Lilith, on her right, whose only reply was, "Yep."

"Well, I've seen weirder places" said Vian, folding her arms, confident that she can get used to the place.

"Wanna bet on that?" asked Lilith as Maya also gave her a challenging look.

After only half a minute of silence, Vian suddenly perked up with a gasp, startling the other two a bit.

"Oh, I can't believe I didn't ask, but it only hit me just now," she started as she stood briefly on both heels and did a 90 degree turn, snapping to face Maya, who just blinked, wondering what the lively ladykiller had on her mind, as Vian continued, "If you grew up with a bunch of monks and never left the place until fairly recently, does that mean you never…" she trailed off as she looked down, her eyes lingering on a certain spot on Maya's body. Lilith turned and started walking back inside, halfway through Vian's question, as she already knew where that train of thought was steaming and that old-world metaphor was more apt than it sounded. Maya was left alone with the beast. She was pretty sure her face has never been redder. Her ability to form sentences, lost, as she struggled to string even two words together; any words.

"Well…I…I…I've…" Oh. A contraction. But, we can count that as three, for her, shall we. Five, if we allow for repetition. She tried, but a deep inhale from Vian as her chest heaved and the intense, wild look in her eyes destroyed any hope of her finishing whatever poor excuse of a coherent sentence she was desperately trying to formulate.

A humming noise, or more like that of a booster rocket, filled the air, getting nearer and they both turned their attention as Gaige was racing towards the building on the shoulder of her robot. Maya let out a quiet sigh of relief. Saved…for now.

Both watched as Deathtrap's boosters got some extra thrust as it left ground-level and flew all the way up to the balcony and they came face to face with the occasionally maniacal red-head riding it.

"Yo, peeps!" came her greeting.

"Gaige?" Maya's 'hello' was also asking if she needed something.

"Nice schoolgirl outfit!" was Vian's 'hello.'

"Thanks! Didn't stay long enough to see myself in a prom-dress, luckily." joked Gaige.

"You mean, you couldn't." corrected Maya, referring to the bloody circumstances, accidental as they were, under which Gaige was forced to flee her school and home-planet.

"Not you, too! What is this? Pick-on-the-girl-with-the-killer-robot Day? Smart!" growled Gaige as she said that last word with sarcasm, bulging her eyes to look…uh…if not threatening enough, than crazy enough, so others may or may not take it as a legitimate threat at their own peril.

"Apologies!" said Maya, a little nervous. She really did not mean to make fun of the girl's past.

Lilith came back out when she heard the familiar lingo of the teenager.

"Hey Firebird!" greeted Gaige.

"That's Fire_hawk_ to _you_, missy!" she answered only half-jokingly to the butchering of a perfectly good nickname given to her by a cult of psychos and bandits now extinct. "So what's up?" she wanted to know what got the girl fired up and she already had an idea that included a mustache and prosthetic limbs.

"Talked to Scooter about scanning the buzzards and he said we gotta collect some stuff for him, first. Then, I talked to Hammerlock. He's staying at that lodge of his for a while and I mentioned the buzzards to him and he asked if we could go on an aerial survey for him and do some fly-byes over a few spots." She rambled the whole thing under 10 seconds flat and as Maya and Vian were just staring, trying to process all that, Lilith was having an internal debate.

"Sugar-high?" Vian whispered to Maya.

"Factory default." answered Gaige, having heard her.

"We need to go on a supply-run, anyway." said Lilith, as she mulled over what they'd need to do. "We can take a detour and do the survey, first, to get it out of the way and who knows, maybe old Hammerlock will throw in some guns for us."

"Hey, he's not _that_ old." argued Gaiged.

"Too old for _you_. And even if he wasn't you _know_ you don't have a chance, barring a sex-change." came the sad truth from Lilith.

"Nonsense." said Gaige, stubbornly.

"You said so yourself." Maya tried to remind her of her own admission and the futility of her efforts.

"Whatever…let's just get this show on the road." she exclaimed, not to be discouraged in her pursuits, as she patted Deathtrap on the head and the two floated back down to ground-level. Maya and Lilith were about to head back inside to then continue down and outside, when Vian suddenly vaulted over the concrete railing of the balcony to land on the street. Maya peered down over the railing after her.

"You comin'?" asked Vian, innocently, feigning impatience as if she had been waiting for them to catch up. Lilith began walking as Maya shook her head, smiling and proceeded downstairs.

They met up in front of the headquarters and began walking through the square. They barely got to the square itself when they heard a strange sound, as if someone was mimicking a beatbox, and they looked on as a peculiar, yellow, box-shaped, mono-eyed robot, with a pair of arms and a single wheel for legs, rolled by, making all the noise. Vian just turned to the others, not even baffled anymore.

"That's Claptrap. The little guy helped us a lot, actually. Just don't get him talking, or if you do try to zone-out. And don't get too mad if he spills motor-oil on your jeans. Might wanna get some spare ones, though, just in case." came the explanation from Lilith.

"Uh…oh…'kay" was all Vian could say as she couldn't begin to imagine what _that_ meant. Nor could she wait to find out, whenever.

They continued their walk and Vian noticed a small ECHO-News kiosk that she missed before, the vendor shouting to get the attention of potential customers. They got passed the square as they took a left turn in front of a building that looked like a small clinic, a private-practice, likely. She swore she could her screams coming from inside.

They were coming up on the back entrance to Scooter's garage, and she could partially see the spot where she landed with the buzzard. They were nearly at the door when it swung open as Athena came walking out, looking just as menacing as before.

"Oh, hi Athena!" came the polite greeting from Maya.

"Maya." she acknowledged her, returning the politeness as best she could.

"Gaige didn't even mention you were over at Scooter's. Her mind was probably clogged up by mustaches, metal limbs and accents." she ribbed Gaige, giving her a side-glance, eyelids half-shut.

"And it's a combination of H.O.T." she snapped back, blowing her tongue, again.

"You're talking about…Hammerlock?" assumed Athena, raising a rigid brow.

"The one and only." fawned Gaige. amme

"We're heading out to get some supplies and do some…reconnaissance. That might be a strong word for it, but with all that's out there we might find some trouble. Would you like to come along?" Maya explained and asked even though she wasn't expecting a positive response.

"No thanks." Athena politely declined Maya as she glanced at Lilith, whose face was expressionless. Then, she added "I prefer to hunt alone."

Maya knew it was just an excuse to avoid Lilith. Though, 'avoid' wasn't the right term. She wasn't afraid of anyone…or anything. Not even of death in front of a firing squad. She proved _that_.

"You don't strike me as the crazed-loner-type or a lonely wolf. Socially awkward and a little frigid…maybe. But, you had to have been a team-player. Otherwise, you wouldn't be here with _these_ misfits." came Vian's first-impression as she nodded to each person in the group, not inaccurate in her generalization. And no one actually took offense.

"Some other time." Athena said, as she walked away and down a flight of stairs, taking a left towards Moxxi's bar.

"She didn't even correct me or go for that sword." said Vian, a little surprised, but relieved.

"You can live to tell your grand-kids." commented Gaige on that accomplishment or simply a stroke of luck, but either way there was a lack of bloodshed. Slow day. Vian gave Gaige somewhat of a skeptical look, furrowing her brow and Maya laughed lightly.

"Doubtful." said Vian.

"Huh? Why?" asked Gaige. Not yet understanding why her future prediction was wrong.

"Let's go!" Lilith said, letting out a sigh at the same time, getting a little impatient. They went inside and were shuffling along in a row on a narrow catwalk overlooking the workshop.

Scooter was nowhere to be seen among the piles of vehicle parts and tables full of tools. They heard a blow-torch going off outside and they walked down the metal stairs and through the garage, ducking under the still only partially opened doors. They arrived just in time to witness the mechanic hard at work as he began to dismantle one of the buzzards in a most unorthodox manner, using the blow-torch as a sword…or a dagger, rather; even providing some extra sound effects of his own, pretending he was fighting an evil robot. Seeing as he was thoroughly lost in his fantasy, Lilith just walked towards the other buzzard as she waved to the rest.

"We'll take this one. A few minutes later and both would've been in pieces." she stated, certain of it.

"You didn't talk to him about Hammerlock's request?" Maya asked Gaige as the girl thought for a second, then she got a sheepish look, throwing up both hands as she shrugged. Maya shook her head as she gave the girl a knowing lopsided smile as Lilith just went ahead and sat down on the right side of the single wide seat.

"You're flying, then!" Lilith called to Gaige, designating her as their pilot for their operation.

"How are we going to fit on that?" wondered Maya out loud.

"Guess we'll have to squeeze _tightly_ together" suggested Vian, beaming at Maya, who gave her a weary look.

"How am I going to fly it? I can't fit in front of the controls no matter how _tightly_ we squeeze!" complained Gaige, oblivious to the workings of Vian's ever-dirty mind.

The three Sirens were already sitting, with Maya on the left and Vian in the middle.

"You can get on your robot and I can fly _this_." came Vian's second suggestion as she already had her arms around the other two Siren's shoulders and pointed downwards with both of her index-fingers.

"Yeah! And Deathtrap could run out of fuel and I could go sky-diving." explained Gaige.

"Can't you pack him up?" asked Lilith, getting steadily more impatient.

"Duh!" retorted Gaige as she de-summoned/de-digistructed Deathtrap, compacting him into a box on her hip, "I still won't have enough room." she added.

They were all looking around, trying to come up with something, except Vian, whose eyes lit up. She didn't say a word as she spread her legs, just enough to bump knees with Lilith and Maya, who, along with Gaige, stared as she patted the spot in front of her.

"Ooo-kay" said Gaige, a bit unsure, but not really finding the position odd, as she occupied the suggested space without much thought. She only felt that something was off, when Vian gave a deep, throaty laugh with her mouth closed and she saw both her hands moving to rest on the other two women's knees on either side of her and she was also locked between a pair of long legs.

"Now, _this_ is what _I_ call H.O.T." said Vian, grinning like a Cheshire cat.

Gaige was just starting to get the idea of what the new Siren was all about, when the latter added, "I like to call this particular pose _'The Venus Flytrap'_."

Gaige was just staring in front of her, not moving, frozen, except for all the blood that was slowly coloring her cheeks as she was beginning to understand the situation.

"Any day, now!" Lilith brought the girl out of her deer-in-the-headlights moment. Or was it a don't-move-there's-a-voracious-beast-behind-you moment.

"Right! Off we go!" she blurted out as she took the controls and they lifted off the ground and took to the skies.

A few minutes passed as they slowly descended to an altitude from where they could make out movement on the ground. They were still high enough to see dozens of miles in every direction, flying over a river and paralleling a road littered with burnt vehicle parts and with corpses here and there in every stages of decay. Charred, slightly decomposed, heavily decomposed, picked-clean-by-scavengers-and-wildlife _before_ they could decompose and, of course, plain old bones with the occasional skag nibbling on them. They could see the desert-like landscape with its cracked, dry ground and wind-eroded rocks slowly transitioning to green plains with ever thicker grass and rocky hills forming smaller mountains.

Lilith looked bored as Maya and Vian were giving their necks a workout, turning their heads in every direction, taking it all in.

"So, what brought you here, Maya?" Vian shouted just loud enough to be heard over the rotors.

"I wanted to find out more about Sirens. Where we come from and why we have these powers."

"And what did you find? I'm pretty clueless, myself." Vian admitted. She was intrigued by those questions herself, but lacked any substantial knowledge. Not for a lack of trying.

"Unfortunately not much. We know that only six Sirens can exist in the entire universe at any given time. So there's the three of us and we know of two others who…died." she finished. A sadness overcoming her as she thought about the one they were forced to murder. She didn't like to use the word 'kill', in this case. That's the word for bandits and low-lives and other bastards. She felt awful about it. It was wrong, what they were forced to do to Angel. Even though she herself begged for it. It was mercy after a life of misery, locked away in a machine, in servitude to a mad-man.

"I only knew one of them. I never met the other one. Lilith and the others, Mordecai, Brick and…Roland," she glanced at Lilith as she mentioned Roland's name, "They had trouble with the other one."

"Steele was power-mad. Wanted all of us under the thumb of the Atlas Corporation, including the vault she opened. She got shish-kebabed by an inter-dimensional monster with tentacles." explained Lilith, with a bored tone, as if it was a perfectly normal, every-day story and shrugged to show just how unphased she was by it.

Vian let that sank in for a few second, not even making a face and she turned back to Maya, "And the other one?"

"Her name was Angel. She was forced to trick Lilith and the others and, later, us into doing his father's bidding. Lilith and the others helped him take over Hyperion and then he fooled _us_. He made Angel deactivate Sanctuary's shields with a fake power-cell so they could shoot the place from their satellite," Maya started to explain, pointing to the gigantic H-shaped station in space, visible, looming a little less ominously over the planet of Pandora.

"That's when you took the whole thing in the air, then." Vian filled in the part of the story she knew.

"Yes. Angel helped us gain access to her core in a bunker and we…confronted her, at her own behest. She _begged_ us to destroy the machine she was hooked up to, that was pumping her full of Eridium and _had_ been for years. We found audio-recordings of her and Jack, her father, and we got a pretty good picture of how he was treating her through all her life. How he forced a scared little girl into obeying him. Using her powers for control and to gain power for himself. Bastard." Maya explained, turning angrier with each sentence.

"We lost both Angel…and Roland that day." she looked at Lilith, again, whose lips where quivering almost imperceptibly and there was a darkness in her otherwise almost glowing eyes.

"It's a real shame. As far as I can see, besides Tannis, Angel was the only one who could've told me more about Sirens. She was a computer the size of a planet. Or her mind was, anyway. We couldn't really figure out what her power was or how it worked, but she had and could have had access to loads of information from everywhere, like a living a computer. And from the brief moment we got to see the real her, she looked like she would have made a good friend." concluded Maya, sighing deeply.

"What about her?" asked Vian, pointing to Lilith, "Can't she tell you something? You said she can even use that Eridium stuff."

"Uhm…well. She doesn't really know that much. She's only marginally more knowledgeable than anyone else. Which is surprising, since she can even use Eridium to augment her powers, but she doesn't know anything about that, either. And she doesn't seem to make much of an effort to learn about it." Maya let a bit of her frustration show.

"Oh, thanks! Maybe when you find a _book_ on it, you can tell me all about it!" jeered Lilith and Maya scoffed.

"Hey, now!" said Vian, holding up a hand to both, trying to calm the tension, "I love playing dove of peace as well as matchmaker, but you two aren't giving me anything to work with, here."

Both of them looked flustered as they knew exactly what Vian was suggesting, besides saying 'kiss and make up'.

"I thought you were trying to _seduce her_." Lilith tried to divert as she folded her arms.

"Just a harmless suggestion." replied Vian, then she placed a hand on Maya's inner-thigh, making her jump a bit at the slight tickling sensation. "Which reminds me…" she added as she gave Maya _that_ look, again. She was instantly reminded of where their conversation had ended back on the balcony. With her in the proverbial corner, like a mouse. And the _cat_ was at it, again.

"Hey! Not up, here! Wait til we land! Sheesh!" yelled Lilith.

"But, she's got nowhere to run, here." exclaimed Vian with glee.

"That's not fair!" protested Maya, half-heartedly.

"All is fair in L-.." started Vian, but was cut short as their buzzard suddenly banked to the side and a missile shot past them, missing their aircraft by a mere few feet.

"Hey! What's the deal Robogirl?" she yelled at Gaige, putting a firm hand on both of her shoulders.

"Hey! It ain't my fault! We got bandits!" Gaige yelled back, pointing to the ground below, where a group of bandits were taking aim at them, one of them helping another with reloading a rocket-launcher, fiddling with the rocket.

Gaige was busy maneuvering just in case they were fired upon, as the three women in the back reached for their guns…which…weren't…there.

"Crap! We have no _guns_!" Lilith yelled in alarm, as all of their eyes went wide as they were heading towards what now looked like a bandit encampment hidden between the rocks.

(To be Continued)

**Author's note**: Yeah, I like the idea of Angel and Maya being an item. Or they could have been if Angel hadn't died. She could have supplied Maya and the others with valuable information on a number of things, I'm betting. And they could have nursed her back to health. I also figured Maya would be dissatisfied with and disappointed in Lilith and her lack of knowledge about Sirens or Eridium. Tannis is still the go-to person for that, and she's unhinged, so…interestingly enough the speculations seem to suggest it was Tannis who took care of Maya's assassin in the BL2 DLC, and they going by that assumption because of the wording of the letter, that does sound like something Tannis would say. Also, references were made to Gaige's possible crush on Hammerlock and that Hammerlock is, according to the wikia and in-game references, canonically gay. Mwhaha! Poor Gaige.


	4. Borderlands - Enter the Siren - Part 4

**Enter the Siren – Part 4**

"Whadda you mean we don't have _guns_!?" screamed Gaige. "None o' ya are packin'!?"

"I was…_distracted_!" Lilith screamed back as she started to panic a little.

"By _what_!?"

"I don't know! By _these_ two!" Lilith waved a hand at Vian and Maya, who were dumbfounded at the accusation.

Gaige was busy trying to circle around the place as Maya stood up in her spot as much as the space allowed her and gripped the handle in the back for support. Lilith knew what she was about to do.

"The rocket!" she shouted to Maya.

"I know!" she responded as she concentrated, extending her arm and hand in the direction of the two bandits who were fortunately still fiddling with reloading the ammunition to their launcher. They didn't get a second more to do so as a pulsing, swirling orb of energy appeared right inside the torso of the one holding the rocket. The effect of Maya's Phaselock detonated the rocket and both bandits were sent flying in, at least, a dozen different directions. The remaining bandits couldn't even recover from the force of the explosion as they were pulled towards the black-hole-like sphere, while getting pelted by the body-parts of their former buddies. They were wiping entrails and blood off their masked faces and picking themselves up from the ground, giving our four femmes the time to devise a proper counter-attack.

Vian was admiring Maya's handy-work as Lilith was giving instructions to Gaige, "Sat it down behind that boulder!" she yelled, leaning in, pointing to a spot that could provide them cover while they got off, all except Gaige. She reached for her toolbox.

"DT and I will keep 'em busy! You go do your Siren-thing!" she said, nodding to the side.

"Right." said Lilith as she looked herself over, again and noted, with alarm and aggravation, that besides any fire-arms, she was also missing her shield-generator. It was an old piece and all those uses of her Phasewalk probably didn't help extend function beyond the warranty period, so she got rid of it and haven't gotten a replacement.

"We better play this one smart!" she suggested, more to herself than to the others.

"I can't use my powers, again, so soon." Maya stated, worriedly.

They heard the familiar sound of boosters and saw Deathtrap zeroing in on the spot where the bandits were now back on their feet and had opened fire on the robot.

Luckily, the mech had the benefits of a shield-generator, amongst other things. Such as a pair of large, razor-sharp claws that digistructed on its hands as it engaged several of the bandits in melee, swiping across their upper-body and opening them up for attack, figuratively and literally. Though, a follow-up attack was not needed, considering the state the enemies were left in. Gaige was circling the battlefield, knowing her greatest invention could only withstand so much punishment as his shields were rapidly depleting. The Sirens peeked from behind their cover and realized they had to act fast.

"Screw it." murmured Lilith as she ran out and towards the nearest of more than half a dozen bandits, counting only the ones that were on the same elevation, as they could, now, spot half a dozen more on an outcropping.

"What the hell is she thinking!?" Vian whispered to Maya.

"What the hell is all that racket!?" they heard a bellowing as a rather large bandit, holding a spike-covered shield taller than himself, emerged from a tent on the upper level of the camp.

"Oh, he's well fed, that one!" came Vian's remark and they turned their heads in the direction of a flash to see Lilith knocking out the nearest bandit. She grabbed his shotgun and promptly emptied the shells into the next enemy and then one more. The double-barrels were still smoking as she jumped towards her third target bashing his skull in with the weapon before she had to disappear, using her Phasewalk, as the rest of the bandits were now aware of her and wasted no time, only ammo, as they opened fire in her general direction. The ones on the outcropping were positioning themselves, two of them flanking their boss from either side.

At the same time Lilith made her move, Deathtrap managed to take down two more suckers, but his shield was nearly empty and his metal frame couldn't hold for long, noted Gaige from the air as she reached for her spare Mirv grenade, calling the bot back while at it. There were only four bandits left on the lower ground, neatly bunched together as they were pressed from two sides a moment ago. All of them were looking around in confusion as the killing-machine dematerialized in front of them. Had they been looking hard enough, they would have noticed a grenade landing between them, granted it was a Longbow-type and those were designed to teleport to the nearest surface in the direction they were thrown. The initial explosion killed one of them and the child-grenades it spawned made quick work of the rest.

"Thank you Mr. Torgue!" came the praise from Gaige.

Lilith just reemerged behind their hiding spot as the fireworks went off, holding a machinegun she snatched before retreating. Gaige moved out of sight with the buzzard and they heard the buzzing fade, then return, coming closer. As far as they were concerned, the girl and her science-project-turned-weapon-of-mass-destruction have done their fair-share of destructing.

"Nice moves! Not liking the gun, though." said Vian, returning the other one's earlier complement and making a weapon-fashion statement.

"Thanks! Not my thing, either." said Lilith, giving a questioning nod to Maya, who shook her head. She still needed time to recover. That whole massacre happened in a quarter of a minute. They got a breather as the remaining bandits, though on full alert, had no idea where they were.

"Gotta take 'em from both sides." plotted Lilith.

"I'll take the front! I'm almost ready." volunteered Maya, having nearly recharged.

"I can get behind the big one and take him from above, if you two can keep him facing your way!" said Vian, getting pumped.

"How? You'd need time to climb." argue Maya.

"Not exactly." came Vian's somewhat boastful response, and the other two seemed to trust her as much as she seemed to trust herself. "Can you pull 'em together, again?" she asked Maya.

"Yes. I'll trap the large one. If nothing else, it'll keep him in place."

"Good! It's all I need, babe!" exclaimed Vian, with a grin, and Maya's eyes flickered for a brief moment at her last word.

"Alright." said Lilith as she peeked from behind their cover, once more, to make a quick headcount.

"Got six of 'em and their boss. I'll get on their right flank and try to get two of them." she started, "Maya, you'll stay back until she gives you the go!" she finished as she nodded towards Vian, who exchanged a reassuring nod with Maya.

They all readied themselves, Lilith checked the safety on the machinegun and it gave a loud click. One bandit turned his head in the sound's direction.

"Oops." Lilith whispered as they all had their teeth pressed together, knowing someone must have heard the noise.

"Here goes nothing." said Lilith as she concentrated for a brief moment, then launched forward into a different dimension, moving much faster while in there. She popped out behind a small rock, the flash getting the attention of a few bandits, after all, the rocks only concealed her, but not the light-show she put out.

"Damn it." cursed Lilith, under her breath, as she looked over to the other two Sirens still crouched behind their own cover, nearly a hundred feet away. She needed a distraction, so she would have enough seconds to get off a few shots and make them count, too. She saw Vian reaching for a small, fist-sized rock and she read her mind. Vian threw the rock against the mountainside, making some noise and causing pieces to slide down, creating a mini-avalanche. All of the bandits snapped their heads in its direction, which was some hundred feet away, ahead of them, and to the north-west from Lilith's point of view on the right side of the outcropping's foot.

She wasted no time as she stepped out from hiding and took aim at the nearest bandit. The rifle had considerable climb as the first shot hit the bandit in the chest, then the side of his neck and the third bullet caught him in the side of his face as he jerked back from the force and pain of the bullets penetrating his body. A bit of an overkill, as the first shot would have been enough to cause a fatal wound, but Lilith wasn't taking any chances as she swung the gun in the next bandit's direction and pulled the trigger long enough to release another three bullets. It wasn't a burst-fire rifle, but she had gotten enough experience with all kinds of firearms, courtesy of Roland's influence, to know how to squeeze out just enough to prevent a weapon from climbing up too much from the recoil. This particular piece had a lot, though. She had to make an effort to keep it from losing too much aim. It wasn't an instance of quick-learning, though. She didn't have the time and luxury to practice and adjust to the weapon, but to simply grip until her knuckles were white, pull the trigger and spray. Prayer wouldn't have done a thing.

Lilith had to duck for cover as the bandits were about to open fire. Bullets bounced off the rock she was covering behind as Vian sprang into action, energy enveloping her entire body. She ran towards the outcropping that was a good 10 feet higher.

"Now!" she shouted to Maya as she jumped and easily landed on her feet atop the wall of rocks, now, on the same plain as the bandits. She dashed past two bandits, her fists connecting with their faces, right and left, the cracking of jawbones momentarily reverberating on her eardrums as she ran on towards the mountainside, keeping her momentum. She heard the confused yelling of the remaining bandits as they were pulled into their boss before they could fire at her. One of them was pulled right into the spikes on his shield. He was stuck there as the bandit leader curled up into a ball from the pull of Maya's Phaselock, his shield with the bandit on it still providing cover from weapons fire and even from the literal fire of Maya's ability, which was having little effect on him, unable to burn completely through his thick, hooded outfit. Not fast enough, anyway.

"What the hell!? Just wait til I get loose!" he screamed in anger. "You'll pay for this!"

As he struggled, Vian started to scale the rocks, easily jumping a dozen feet into the air several times as she kicked herself away, towards the trapped bandit and his one remaining lackey who was getting on his feet. Maya and Lilith looked on at just what the hell Vian was about to pull as she was nearly 30 feet above the bandits when she started her fall.

She held both hands above her head, close together, as her energy formed a blade. She let out a battle cry as she landed on the bandit leader's back, just as the latter dropped to the ground as the effect from Maya's power wore off and he was kneeling on the ground. She stabbed him through the back and the blade-shaped mass of energy exploded, releasing a vapor cloud in a nearly 30 foot radius that produced arcing bolts of electricity, dancing around Vian as she stood. Her eyes glowed with power.

Maya and Lilith were staring, their eyes wide and Gaige was slack-jawed, as well, as she flew by looking at the scene. The bandit who picked himself up from the ground only moments ago was being electrocuted, staggering around and shaking as the shocks came. He was doing his impromptu and involuntary dance a mere three feet away from Vian, who didn't even look at him as she gave him the back of her hand, turning his lights off as she herself was bathed in it. The energy slowly disappeared as she calmed her power and herself.

Her hair was still standing up from the static and as she dropped down to join up with the others, meeting them halfway, Maya covered her light laugh with a hand and Vian just smirked as she swept her hair back down with both hands. They heard a pain-filled, pitiful whimper and turned towards it. Apparently the main bandit was still alive, only barely and he wasn't moving. Vian scowled as she went and climbed back up without much effort.

"Seriously…?" she groaned as she approached the dying man with a sizeable whole in his back that had blood gushing from it. She held both hands up, turning towards Lilith, signaling with her fingers, and the latter threw the gun to her. She caught it and aimed it, pressing the barrel to the back of the bandit's head. Pulling the trigger, she put him out of his misery. She looked at the gun, turning it to look at it from every angle, then dropped it with an, "Eww."

"How are you not covered in blood?" Lilith asked in wonder as Vian returned to them.

"Magic." she said with shrug, "Whadda we do with 'em?" she asked, making a sweeping motion with her arm, gesturing towards all the dead bandits.

"Loot 'em. What else? You must be new to corpse-robbing." answered Lilith as she started towards the nearest one.

"I don't think it's beyond me." she stated while smiling up at Maya who gave her an approving look.

Lilith was searching for something in particular, but it didn't look like she was having any luck. It was then that Maya noticed the absence of a shield-generator on her hip.

"Hey, where is your shield?" she asked in surprise.

"I'm looking for one, now." Lilith answered as if it was no big deal that she entered a fight without any.

"That's reckless!" Maya said, sternly.

"I managed." Lilith answered in the same callous tone and Maya shook her head with a disapproving glare and kneeled to search a body.

"You've been out of sorts, lately." she said with concern, as she began searching, but stopped to address her.

"I'm fine, mom." Lilith said, somewhat irritated.

Just as she finished and stood to move to another corpse, they heard loud voices, in conversation, coming from the way they came, beyond the rock that they used for cover not two minutes ago. Vian stood up in alarm. She was back on the outcropping, having went back to search the bodies while she listened in on the other two. From her elevated position, she could see the new threat sooner.

Three bandits were making their way back to camp, having a spirited conversation about their latest raid, women's body parts, mutilated body parts, booze and what they would do with any of it. They must have noticed the buzzard flying around, above their camp, but probably figured it was theirs. One of their buddies coming by. They weren't on alert, yet.

Gaige dipped the buzzard down, beginning a descent, flying straight towards the three bandits with alarming speed. They came out from the narrow passageway and took several seconds as they kept turning heads around, trying to make sense of the carnage they walked in on or rather its aftermath. Seeing two of the women standing above the gored bodies of their fellow bandits turned their confusion into rage. All they began to see was red. Their sudden tunnel-vision making them forget about the buzzard and notice its rapid approach towards them.

"You!"

"Our buddies"

"Kill those bitches!"

They all said, at the same time as they reached for their guns. Right as the bandits saw them and they saw the weapons they were carrying, Maya and Vian both remembered Lilith's lack of protection and so did the latter as she cursed. Vian reached down to her hip and detached her own device.

"Lilith! Catch!" she shouted as she threw it from her position, atop the outcropping, over to her. She caught it, needing only a second to realize what she was holding and what Vian was doing. She saw the shield's manufacturer was Tediore, but that observation was all she had time for as she activated it. Barely a second after she did that, the bandits fired. Fortunately for her, shields of that make were famous for their fast recharge-rate. They didn't have high shields, but they could be up in a snap to spare one from a couple of bullet-holes. She and Maya darted to the side as Lilith' new shield took the first few shots from the bandit trio's pistols. She couldn't take another round of shots like that and they all knew it. She didn't have to, however, as one of the bandits received a round of bullets from the right and they turned to see Vian holding the same assault-rifle from before, still trained at the two bandits who were about to switch their attention and their aim onto her. It was only then that they finally realized just how loud that buzzard sounded, as they turned in the opposite direction, in time to see as it was about to slam into them. They threw themselves on the ground to either side as Gaige blew past them, kicking up a small dust-storm and flying back up.

As Maya and Lilith followed the girl with their eyes, they also saw Vian leaping from the high ground and roll as she landed with the rifle clutched in her hands. She ran towards the bandits as the one farther away was already getting to his knees, having just enough to time raise his gun as he was shot full, his body being punctured in all places by Vian as she did the best she could, trying to aim with the weapon while running. The bandit sprawled out on the ground as the one remaining was dumb enough to look back at his corpse, only for a second, but it was enough time for Vian to get up close and personal and deliver a swift, jaw-shattering kick, the added force from her momentum connecting hard enough to nearly make the bandit's head twist around in an angle it shouldn't be able to; but damage to his vertebrae was the least of his worries. Well, he didn't have to worry about anything, anymore. Not his spine, his neck, his jaw or the number of teeth he had lost and were now rattling around in his mouth and inside his mask as his head was still bobbing in all direction, until it hit the ground and his brain…his cranial fluid…started to leak, compounding the injuries with which a coroner would have a field day.

All _would_ have been quiet, once again, except for Gaige, who was buzzing around, looking for a spot to land. She decided to park on the outcropping, much to Lilith's and Maya's displeasure at having to climb. Well, Maya didn't mind, actually and Lilith was only winding herself up, still. Vian was already pushing herself up the side, probably making up for all the lost time in her childhood that she didn't spend with mountain-climbing; opting for running, jumping, climbing trees and _not_ putting on make-up while up there. She walked over to where the other two were climbing up. Lilith was the first up and she reached for the shield that was lent to her, handing it back to Vian.

"Thanks! I owe you one." she said with sincerity.

"It _was_ dangerous going without one, you know." Vian responded with a slight criticism as she moved past her, reattaching the device, bending down to give Maya a hand, pulling her up…close and the latter only leaned back a little, startled by the proximity.

"You can really keep the competition in a _bondage_." commented Vian on Maya's ability, who smirked as she put her fist up in Vian's direction and it began to glow.

"Woah, hey!" said Vian, holding her hands up in defense.

"I don't even know what would happen if I'd use it on another Siren. The two mixing might be very dangerous." said Maya. Though, she and Lilith _have_ used both their powers in combination on enemies, with explosive results.

"Aww, you mean there was never any chance for the two of us!" teased Vian.

"I wouldn't say _that_." replied Maya, stepping past her, while brushing her hair aside to hide a blush and Vian followed after her with a smirk of her own.

As the two were getting on like a house on fire, again, Lilith walked towards the buzzard with a sigh, weary from the flak she was getting, but accepting it wasn't without good reason. She wasn't on top of her game, not since that _thing_ showed up.

"That was pretty close!" said Gaige, disapprovingly and Lilith knew it was mostly meant for her. Entirely, actually.

"Fine! I'll get a shield. Just drop it, already!" she told Gaige and looked back at Maya, who gave her a look that was a mix of concern and disappointment. "We can haul all the guns back to Marcus, and get some extra buck for our bang."

"Uh…he's not a pimp, is he?" asked Vian, at her choice of words.

"A weapons pimp." answered Gaige.

"Shotgun sugar-daddy?"

"Yuck…not _mine_!"

"He was actually involved with Moxxi." said Maya.

"More like Moxxi was involved with _him" _said Lilith, making a distinction. "And lots of others."

"She has the weirdest taste." said Gaige, getting a look from the others, immediately. "Okay, pot, here." she admitted, waving a hand.

"To Marcus' and then where?" Maya asked.

"We'll use the fast-travel. Figure out the 'where', when we get back." answered Lilith.

"I'm a virgin." came the statement from Vian and all three of them gave her a stare. "Only to the fast-travel-thing." she added as she stepped closer to Maya and did a little dance with her eyebrows, suggestively. The latter just gave a sly smile and raised a glowing fist to her, again.

"I'll behave!" yielded Vian with her hands up, again. "You secretly like to dominate…and you don't even know it yet." She added after a good long second of keeping to her word.

"Your mind is just one big sex-club, isn't it?" comment Lilith.

"Nooo…" protested Vian, but seeing as all three were giving her a somewhat accusatory look, she added, "Yes." A few seconds later. "It ain't my fault that some women are just…" she made hissing sound as if touching something too hot as she looked at Maya, who couldn't really look away, but managed to only show a light blush. Or so she thought.

"Hey, it's working." said Gaige, referring to Maya's face, specifically and the latter turned sideways, facing away from them, getting nervous as she heard Vian's satisfied 'mhm'.

"Let's load up!" said Lilith as they began to collect all the weapons, taking the clips out to avoid any accidents. They scored a few pistols, more machineguns, two shotguns and some small rations of food. Not enough of the latter, though. Using some ropes and cloth from the tents, they tied the weapons together in a pack and secured it on the back of the buzzard, without losing much space. They didn't have much to begin with, anyway. They packaged the consumables and all three of them in the back were holding a bundle in their lap. Luckily the buzzard didn't have any problems getting off from the ground, even with the added weight. With that, they started their flight back to Sanctuary.

(To be Continued…)

**Author's Note**: So, I figured Lilith's Phasewalk, in particular, would eventually make her shield-generator go on the fritz, or it would simply add to the wear and tear. I don't necessarily like assault-rifles or machineguns, unless they look good and they rarely do. I figured Mirv-grenades would suit Gaige, and I like the Longbow-types the most, and there are some 'nades in the game that are both Mirvs and Longbows. You can read about Vian's abilities in detail on my DeviantArt account with the same username. A reference was made to events at the end of The Pre-sequel and a certain character that showed up. Reversed the saying "bang for a buck", in case someone thinks I got it wrong.

Also, I made a reference to a line from a famous stand-up comedian, reworked only slightly for my character. It will be easy to spot, as it reads odd in itself, but if you know the reference, the name of the comedian, then lots of imaginary cookies for you.

I…started playing **Dragon Age: Inquisition**, so…updates might come a _little_ later than usual. I _am_ planning at least 2-3 more chapters, possibly more. I have to work the aerial survey part in a bit differently.


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